Victory could be hard won in Chicago

Fire are in a rut but Columbus no great shakes on the road

It's not easy making a case for Columbus on the road, but it’s not easy to suggest backing Chicago anywhere.

Composing arguments against these sides is a lot easier than finding grounds to back them.

Chicago are in a rut and coach Veljko Paunovic sounded like he was about to spontaneously combust after their last-gasp loss at Montreal.

"It always come to the same mistakes from the same people," he lamented. "We have to make some decisions."

If by decisions he means a player purge then surely Bastian Schweinsteiger, who gave away a penalty against the Impact and looks flawed at the heart of a back three, has to be feeling the heat.

The Fire have now lost eight in a row, haven't kept a clean sheet in 17 and have conceded at least two in eight of their last nine. Defensively, they are as close to a shambles as it comes with a mistake – generally a pretty big one – never far away.